Chloe shook her head to indicate she didn’t know.
“Ransom him.”
That was Bruce’s voice. She was sure of it. The sound of his voice raised all the hackles on the back of her neck.
The first man snorted derision.
The second man said, “Ransom him, eh? MacLeod kens we have his brother and their women. He’ll want them all back. Nay. We willna ransom any of them.”
“Then what, Da?” the other man asked.
A cold, shivering fear went through her. She turned to Evie.
“I need to see who’s in the room,” she said.
Evie shook her head. “No way. That’s too dangerous.”
Chloe reached for her, grasping her free hand and squeezing it. “They captured one of them.”
Evie stared at her, hard, for a long, quiet moment. “One of them?”
“Malcolm or Callum. I don’t know which. I need to find out.”
Her sister took a deep breath, expelled it, and then nodded agreement.
Chloe turned back to the door. She nudged it open enough to squeeze through without disturbing the tapestry. With her hand shaking and her breath quaking, she reached for the edge, pulling it back a scant inch to see into the room.
The man called Rory MacDonald stood in the center with his arms folded over his chest. Bruce was seated, his feet propped up on a nearby table. The third man she was unable to see.
But there, in a chair, with his hands bound behind him, was not Malcolm or Callum.
It was Jamie.
CHAPTER 29
Chloe jerked back from the tapestry and stepped away, turning back toward Evie. Her eyes were wide, her heart was pounding. Her sister knew instantly something was wrong.
“What is it?”
“They have Jamie,” she said. “They want to ransom him.”
Evie cursed under her breath. Then, “What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know,” Chloe said.
They needed a plan. She was too weak to try to use the blood magic again and Bruce had Evie’s piece of the keystone.
“Let’s keep going,” Evie suggested as she glanced down the corridor. “Maybe there’s another door.”
Meaning, maybe there would be another way out. Chloe nodded. She took the torch back from Evie. Together, they headed down the passageway once more. It wasn’t long before they came upon another door. They exchanged silent communication. Evie gave her a nod as if to say go ahead and open it.
Chloe handed off the torch once more. She placed her hands on the door and took a deep breath, glancing at her sister for reassurance. Upon her nod, Chloe then pulled open the door. It creaked, but hopefully not enough to alert anyone who may be on the other side. Light slashed through the open door, pushing back the shadows. She peered inside.
It was an empty room. It looked to be someone’s bedchamber. There was a large four poster bed with curtains, a wardrobe, and a chest. At least, that’s all she could see. She pulled open the door wider.
“Let’s go,” she said, her voice strong and sure.
“Are you sure about this?” Evie asked. Though she sounded nervous, she followed her sister through the door anyway.
